PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

Developmental Tasks According to Developmental Stages

PERSONAL TIMELINE – A personal timeline portrays the influential events and happenings of a person’s life
so that he can understand where he has gone wrong and right in the past. It helps to plan the future in a better
constructive way.
According to John Santrock there are 8 developmental stages in a life span development. His research
focuses on family processes and children psychosocial development. The following are the stages of development:

PRENATAL PERIOD
• Development happens quickly during this stage (tremendous growth from a single
cell to an organism complete with brain and behavioral capabilities)
• Time between conception and birth
• Divided into 3 stages: -germinal -embryonic –fetal

INFANCY
• Birth to 18-24 months
• Time of extreme dependence on adults
• Many psychological activities are just beginning ( language, symbolic thought, sensory - motor
coordination & social learning)

EARLY CHILDHOOD
• End of infancy to 5-6 years old (preschool years-grade 1)
• Young children learn to become more self- sufficient and care for themselves,
develop school readiness skills and spend many hours in play with peers.

MIDDLE & LATE CHILDHOOD

• 6-11 years old (elementary school years)
• Fundamental skills of reading, writing, and arithmetic are mastered.
• Child is formally exposed to larger world and its culture.
• Achievement becomes a more central theme of the child’s world and self-control increases.

ADOLESCENCE
• 10-12 years old to 18-22 years old
• Begins with rapid physical changes (dramatic gains in height in weight,
changes in body contour, and development of sexual characteristics such as
enlargement of breasts, development of pubic and facial hair, deepening of
voice)
• Pursuit of independence & identity are prominent
• Thought is more logical, abstract & idealistic
• More time is spent outside family

EARLY ADULTHOOD
• Late teens or early 20s to 30s
• Time of establishing personal & economic independence, career development,
selecting a mate, learning to live with someone in an intimate way, starting a family
& rearing children.

MIDDLE ADULTHOOD
• 40 to 60 years old time of expanding personal & social involvement & responsibility
• Assisting next generation in becoming competent & mature individuals, reaching & maintaining
satisfaction in a career

LATE ADULTHOOD
• 60s and above
 • Time for adjustment to decreasing strength and health, life review, retirement and
adjustment to new social roles

Developmental Tasks and Challenges of Adolescence

Adolescence is defined as the period between the normal onset of puberty and the beginning of adulthood.
In the Oxford English Dictionary, the origin of the word adolescence was from late Middle English (as a noun)
and was derived via French from Latin adolescent, which means ‘coming to maturity’. Other derivation of the
word the same origin is adolescere, from ad- ‘to’ + alescere ‘grow, grow up’, from alere ‘nourish’.
The transition period between childhood and early adulthood is quite difficult. This is the most crucial
stage because this is the time when teens start defining themselves. Remember, however, that each adolescent’s
experiences, individual changes, and growth vary.
Developmental Challenges of Adolescence
Adolescence is the transition period between childhood and early adulthood– the most rapid stage of
human development. According to World Health Organization (WHO), it is a period of life with specific health
and development needs and rights. It is also a time to develop knowledge and skills, learn to manage emotions
and relationship, and acquire attributes and abilities that will be important for enjoying the adolescent years and
assuming adult roles.
Cambridge Dictionary defines developmental as relating to the process of growing or changing into a
more advance, larger and stronger form, while challenges is defined as something that needs great mental or
physical effort in order to be done successfully and therefore tests a person's ability. The challenges the
adolescents are facing occur during the development of his/her biological, cognitive, and physiological, spiritual
and moral aspects.
Developmental Tasks of Adolescence
As an adolescent who is entering the stage of adulthood, you are responsible for your own being.
Accepting yourself and ensuring your body’s physical health help you build stronger personality and sense of
identity. Likewise, building a strong relationship with your family and showing affection and respect to others
can improve interactions with them. Establishing social responsibility, moreover, develops personal and moral
values to guide you on how to react to social issues.
Some years ago, Professor Robert J. Havighurst of the University of Chicago proposed that stages in
human development can best be thought of in terms of the developmental tasks that are part of the normal
transition. In his developmental tasks theory, he stressed out that when people successfully accomplish the
developmental tasks at a stage, they feel pride and satisfaction. He defines developmental task as a task that
arises at or about a certain period in life, unsuccessful achievement of which leads to inability to perform tasks
associated with the next period or stage in life.
 THE POWER OF PERSONAL DECLARATIONS
by Dr. Emily DeCarlo

So often we accept the declarations that others have made concerning our own lives, well-being or fate. It
is imperative that we recognize that in order to achieve what we want in life, we must not give our power away
to others by accepting their declarations concerning our affairs. When one decides that he or she will boldly
declare good fortune, wellness, joy, etc. relative to his or her life, all of heaven will break loose! Goodness and
mercy shall surely follow.

From birth, we are often told what we are going to be. Sometimes, this is a good thing, but supposes you
have been told time and time again that "you will not amount to anything just like your mother or father"? This
is a dangerous declaration because it sets into motion the actualization of an unwanted occurrence. All of us want
to amount to something! In order to counteract this and all of the negative declarations with their destructive
potential, one must consciously replace them with one's own declarations. In so doing, you are now in control of
setting into action what you really want to occur. You can declare that goodness and mercy shall surely follow
you all the days of your life! The following are some declarations that you may want to make concerning your
life:

I declare:
that I am totally free of all addictions.
that I will survive any attempts of others to control mylife.
that I am free in my mind, body, and emotions.
that I am free to set goals and reach them.
that I am a loving individual with the capacity to give love.
that I am a child of God with all rights and privileges thereof.
that I will contribute to the welfare of others.
that I will be an ambassador of goodwill to all I meet on the journey.
that I will be a good example for others to follow.
that I will help all that I can to reach their goals.
that I will speak words of encouragement to others.
that I will find the goodness in life and focus on it.
that I will not succumb to the negative influences of others.
that I will read the information that will encourage my
personal, and spiritual growth. that I will commit to being the best I can be.

These declarations are meant to encourage you to take control of the influences in your life. They are
suggestions as to what positive things you can speak about your own life instead of accepting whatever has been
said about you in the past. You now have the authority to plant the seeds of love, encouragement and victory in
your garden, thereby crowding out the weeds of negativity that may already have taken root! Just as in a garden,
you may have to pull and pull until you get some weeds out. Sometimes, the negative comments and declarations
of others have taken such a stronghold in our lives, that we must persist until we see the bough not only fall, but
break into pieces. Don't be discouraged if you don't reach your goals overnight. Just remember that even a small
stream of water will crack concrete eventually!!